Feds Say 2 Agents Shot Alex Pretti, Won’t Name Them

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Federal authorities have still not publicly identified the U.S. Border Patrol agents involved in the killing of Alex Pretti, even after a preliminary Homeland Security report confirmed that two officers, not one, discharged their weapons.

The report, obtained by POLITICO and sent to Congress, provides the most detailed government account yet of the Jan. 25 killing of Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse who was shot as he was wrestled to the ground on a Minneapolis street.

According to the report from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility, two officers fired their weapons after another agent on the scene shouted, "He’s got a gun."

However, video recorded by bystanders appears to show that Pretti’s firearm had already been taken from him before the shots were fired. Pretti was legally carrying the weapon and had a valid permit, according to authorities.

Witness footage shows Pretti intervening as agents confronted a woman protesting immigration enforcement activity. Officers then grabbed Pretti and forced him to the ground moments before the shooting.

Despite the release of the report and the existence of multiple videos documenting the incident, federal officials have not released the names of the two agents who fired, nor have they disclosed how many shots each officer fired or which officer fired the fatal rounds.

The lack of identification has drawn sharp criticism from community members and civil rights advocates, particularly when compared to local police shootings, where officers’ identities are often released within days or weeks.

Pretti’s death has fueled widespread outrage in Minnesota and beyond and has contributed to changes in federal immigration enforcement activity in the state. The shooting came just weeks after another Minneapolis resident, Renee Good, was killed by a federal immigration officer, further intensifying scrutiny of the operation.

Some Republican lawmakers have declined to publicly support Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s handling of the shootings.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and other administration officials have said Pretti should not have been armed during the encounter, a claim critics say ignores the video evidence showing he had already been disarmed when he was shot.